Medical marijuana proponents push for South Bay club

Backers of medical marijuana are pushing to get a dispensary in the South Bay. They want medicinal marijuana clubs to legally operate there the way they do In San Francisco and Oakland.

"I want to open a medical cannabis dispensing collective here in Mountain View," says Brian David from the Shoreline Wellness Collective.

But David's dream is currently banned. The long time Mountain View resident wants the city to change its policy and allow medical marijuana dispensaries to move in. Mountain View's current ban expires in April.

"If it were up to me, I'd make it permanent," says resident Marc Roddin.

The city is divided on the presence of pot clubs. Thursday night, staffers went on a fact finding mission to find out how residents feel about dispensaries. Currently, no South Bay city allows them to legally operate.

"Some of the things we'd like to get input on tonight include are what zones are appropriate for medical marijuana dispensaries, hours of operation, what are the actual operating requirements," says Mountain View City attorney Jannie Quin.

"The hours of operation... that, I think we need to be careful," says resident Don Bahl.

State law requires dispensaries to be 600 feet away from a school. Mountain View is considering keeping clubs that same distance or more from schools, parks, and churches.

"It would make more sense to have it not in the residential neighborhoods," says resident Roddin.

"It's almost like you're treating cannabis dispensaries like they're tuberculosis centers. I mean, there's nothing that is a danger inherently from a cannabis center," says Jonathan Steigman from Americans For Safe Access.

Opponents disagree with that statement. That's why a major crack down occurred in Santa Clara County on Thursday. A task force raided seven pot clubs. One in San Jose is across the street from a daycare center and next door to a dentist's office.

"There was a lot of people hanging out. I think a couple of them were smoking and you can smell it when you come outside at night," says Veronica Cuevas from San Jose.

San Jose's City Council will decide whether to regulate the clubs on Monday. Mountain View will vote on the issue in February.